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Boston Career Explorer

Protective Service

Firefighters

Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.

Also called: Fire Engineer, Fire Equipment Operator, Fire Rescue Technician (Fire Rescue Tech), Fire Technician (Fire Tech), Fireman, Forest Fire Suppression Specialist

Compare with my current job (Protective Service Workers, All Other)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$73,990
$35.57/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
8,510
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+4.4%
960 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Postsecondary nondegree award
plus Long-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$49,700$62,050$73,990$81,110$118,540

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
  • Administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to injured persons or provide emergency medical care such as basic or advanced life support.
  • Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
  • Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.
  • Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.
  • Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure12 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 7
  • Language-model AIOE 7
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 21

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for firefighting is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. The core work is physical and happens in person: rescues, emergency medical care, moving toward a fire, and driving and operating equipment. AI tools may offer some support with information, such as building layouts, but they do not replace crews on the scene.

Likely to change

  • Using building and layout information at incidents
  • Planning routes for fire vehicles

Still relies on people

  • Rescuing people from fires and accidents
  • Giving first aid, CPR, and emergency care

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

4 programs near Boston

Related occupations

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